Cycling: Ox Drove

[speedbird591]

No.. seriously ... No.. REALLY seriously this time.

OK, OK, I believe you!

But seriously, though ... this year's been quite a revelation for me. I prioritised the things I most enjoyed doing and decided to move cross country biking up a couple of notches to my number one pastime. So I threw a few hundred quid at upgrading my bike and I wish I'd done it sooner. Although I was happy with my old bike, it's amazing how much more you can do with one that's four pounds lighter and has better quality components. You feel like you can go anywhere. I can just hump it over my shoulder and climb gates with ease. It's rare that I can't make an incline without a break - even a very long one! Consequently I've lost half a stone and a couple of inches off my waist in the last 3 months without dieting.

And the mental benefit of escaping to such remote places is difficult to explain. Actually, the remoteness is also a worrying factor because yesterday, in three hours, I met one hiker and one dog walker. I've taken to wearing a crash helmet for the first time in my life because if I crashed and had concussion I'd probably die before somebody found me! With a broken leg at least I could phone for help, although even Tony wouldn't be able to reach me without a helicopter

Ian

[DaveB]

Hi Ian

That's a good plan and well done for keeping to it I fully understand the difference between a 'quality' bike over a-n-other. When I talked myself into the sponsored cycle ride from Pompey to Hull many moons ago.. the plan was to have 3 of us on the road (maybe 2.. can't remember!).. no, it WAS 2.. we had 3 bikes to choose from leaving one as a spare.. all but one of us looked at the rather trendy and expensive Peugeot and said straight away.. **** OFF.. we're not riding THAT. The saddle could best be described as a razor blade and the older among us didn't fancy being cut in half However.. after a day in the saddle.. all that changed. While the second best of the 3 bikes had the more comfy saddle, it weighed about the same as a fully tooled up Range Rover. The Peugeot on the other hand weighed so little, we couldn't understand how it stayed together

Understand too the need to 'escape'. The pc does that for me a little as does my weekly visit to Brooklands but neither are able to decrease my ever increasing middle aged spread

You keep at it amigo. You're a credit to old gits all over the country (guarded compliment in there)

ATB

DaveB

[Garry Russell]

That was a Hull of a ride you did there Dave

Garry

[DaveB]

Yes.. and I still walk with a slightly crooked gait Our first stop was a car accessory shop to buy as many sponges we could fit in our shorts You know almost immediately what a mistake you've made

NEVER VOLUNTEER!

ATB

DaveB

[speedbird591]

Until I got the better bike, I always said that my old one was good enough, the extra weight would burn off more calories and I didn't want to go fast, anyway blahblahblah. I believed it but I now know it was actually b*ll*cks

I also thought I couldn't justify the expense of a decent bike, but after I discovered how much pleasure it unlocked I realised I was wrong there, too! My bike's second hand but suppose I paid RRP for something similar, brand new - £900 (pick yourself up, Dave!). It should last three years if you don't throw it off cliffs and you may then get up to £300 for it. So that's cost you say £600 plus a service or two and one or two components, say £250 a year - a fiver a week (no tax, fuel or insurance ).

That's just a bit more than I spend on paperback novels, a lot more than I spend on walking but a fair bit less than I spend on computers/flightsimming, which are my other main leisure pursuits. (Beer comes under the essential groceries budget, by the way )

Ian

[DaveB]

I paid RRP for something similar, brand new - £900

You paid NINE HUNDRED QUID for something without an engine!! Be-Jeezus No wonder you keep taking pictures of it. I'd have it next to me in bed too

Ahh.. what funny threads these turn out to be. We really are a rotten bunch of old sods aren't we Laugh at yourself I always say.. better than some other sod doing it

I thought the bike I bought my daughter last christmas was expensive.. £99 at Halfords reduced from nearly £200. THAT has more gears than I can count to and tyres that go so high in pressure, I don't have enough pwr in my leg to pump em up Good news is though.. she has ridden it at least 6 times in the past 12months! Mind you.. they're a posh lot round here and the poor mite is probably embarrassed being seen out on it until dark

ATB

DaveB

[Garry Russell]

The bike I still have was new in 1999........27 gears £520

Garry

[DaveB]

The last bike I owned didn't cost that much but it must have had loads of gears.. I always seemed to find the ones in between. Maybe the clutch had gone

ATB

DaveB

[FlyTexas]

Beautiful pics, Ian. My blood pressure dropped 5 points just looking at them. I can relate to the effect of weight loss on cycling. I've lost 40 pounds since the divorce and I feel like I'm riding an upgraded bicycle.

Brian

[Nigel H-J]

Ian, you are making me edxtremely jealous!! Although I have a disability, no knee-cap in my right leg and a lot of muscle wastage, I used to have one of those bikes where you could peddle for hours on end and go absolutely nowhere fast!! It was really an exercise bike, but should I buy one for around this area it would be wasted!! No scenery or biking tracks apart from the ones you find in the city, given the choice and being where you are, I would have no hesitation of doing the same as you, I was born and bred in the countryside and although that can be found just over the road from where I live (literally walk up a footpath into open fields) the scenery does nothing to take your breath away.

Even though I am now classed as an old git I would have no hesitation in riding miles through scenery like yours even if it meant having to carry an oxygen kit with me for the hills!!

Regards
Nigel.